THE court martial of a Haslingden TA soldier over fake torture pictures printed in the Daily Mirror was officially opened yesterday.

Private Stuart Mackenzie, 25, appeared before a Judge Advocate General and panel members at a hearing at Catterick Garrison, near Richmond, North Yorkshire.

No charges were read to Mackenzie during the proceedings, which saw the three-strong panel sworn in, all serving military personnel, and legal arguments discussed.

The controversial photographs made worldwide headlines in May after purportedly showing British soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (QLR) abusing hooded Iraqi detainees.

One picture showed a soldier apparently urinating on a victim cowering on the floor. The Mirror later printed a front-page apology with a pledge to donate money to charity following the alleged hoax, which also led to the sacking of the newspaper's editor, Piers Morgan.

A Royal Military Police inquiry found that the type of lorry shown in the shots had never been used in Iraq - and was reportedly identified as a lorry based at the regimental headquarters in Preston.

Mackenzie, who works for the Inland Revenue, is in the Territorial Army but went to serve with forces in Iraq attached to the 1st Battalion, QLR. The part-time soldier, who did not speak throughout the hearing, will next appear before Judge Advocate Paul Camp and the panel at a date yet to be fixed.